Discipline

Raising a child, it is not enough to have only love and care. I wish I am a perfect parent, achieving 10/10 or getting full marks in my parental career for the sake of my child. However, there is no training school for one to be a perfect parent. While MOE schools teach academic subjects and provide tests to assess students to ascertain their level of proficiency, there is no such institution for parents. As a parent, we practise what and how we had been raised. Using basicaly the same knowingly/ unknowingly ways, with modification here and there, we prod along, hoping the little one will grow into a kind, strong and useful person.

The parental task is made more difficulty for me, as one who hardly court disciplinary action while growing up nor when working to receive one or to impose one on others. Looking around me, there are parents who resort to canes to ensure kids delivered the desirable school results and some desirable behaviour. There are parents who cane to obtain compliance. There are parents resort to endless persuasion and reasoning. There are also parents exercising authority and firmness. Those who grown up with canning tend to be mediocre, while those with persuasion tend to be more successful and have stronger bond with their mothers/ parents. I guess we want to carry out disciplinary of our child in the best way experts had advised, however, at the end of day, it is our own personality that end up carrying out the action.

Whatever reasons for canning or however  persuasion one use, I think it all boils down to the parent personality and their own background of growing up. Whichever parent has the louder voice, he or she will mould the child in his or her predominantly ways of disciplinary, thus, has the stronger influence on the child.

As children have their own personality, we have to respect them. Help them when they have difficulty in self-
disciplinary; encourage,  recognise and reward them for good practices, and explain the consequences of bad practices to them. The road to raising a healthy, considerate, kind, diligent, upright, and good child is no easy task. Let hope all parents succeed in their roles.